


Hopeful Fool

by thesadchicken



Category: Star Trek, Star Trek: Picard
Genre: Basically canon but it ends well, Canon compliant (as much as possible), Character Death Fix, Fix-It, M/M, Spoilers, Star Trek: Picard Spoilers, a bit of canonical violence, but not too much, i'm weak for these two, two Soft Boys who Deserved Better finally get their happy ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-13
Updated: 2020-04-13
Packaged: 2021-03-01 20:09:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,637
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23632879
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thesadchicken/pseuds/thesadchicken
Summary: Hugh and Elnor meet in darkness. Once together, they fight their way out of the shadows and into the sun.Canon-compliant fix-it fic.
Relationships: Elnor/Hugh, Elnor/Hugh | Third of Five
Comments: 24
Kudos: 66





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Takes place right after [this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SymytKMNdw4&t=107s)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Music to listen to while reading this chapter.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HbraP_45ICU)

_“It is true, we shall be monsters, cut off from all the world;  
but on that account we shall be more attached to one another.”_  
― **Mary Shelley,** **Frankenstein**

* * *

They stood outside the Queen Cell long after Picard was gone, taking Doctor Asha and all her secrets with him. They stood there, the boy’s sword dripping green blood on the floor, Hugh’s heart thundering in his chest. The Romulans lay cold and unmoving, scattered across Subsector 11 like fallen leaves. In this chamber of horrors, a few dead bodies weren’t so out of place.

Hugh still recoiled when the boy – _Elnor_ , Picard had called him – sheathed his weapon, wiping off the blood on the inside of his robes.

 _It will take a few minutes to shut everything down and hide this room again. Can you hold them off that long?_ Hugh had asked when they’d left the Queen Cell.

 _I won't need a few minutes_ , Elnor had answered. It hadn’t been an exaggeration. Swift and fatal, the swing of his blade had taken out every last Romulan soldier within seconds. Not a drop of blood on Elnor’s face or clothes; not a hair out of place. It was obvious he’d done this before.

After all the commotion, the silence in the passageway was deafening. Hugh leaned against the wall and took a deep breath. He needed to feign innocence to cover Picard’s escape, and being caught in Subsector 11 with four dead Romulans and a sword-wielding warrior didn’t look very innocent.

“Let’s get out of here,” he muttered.

The smell of blood faded as they walked away, replaced by the suffocating moisture characteristic of Borg vessels. Elnor followed close behind, looking around for signs of trouble. Hugh took them up into the corridors, once full of drones, now blissfully empty. They needed to stay close, at least for a while, to make sure no one came back – but they couldn’t draw attention to Subsector 11, in case the Romulans decided to go poking around and accidentally discovered the Queen Cell.

“Where are we going?” Elnor asked, his gentle voice a jarring contrast with his deadly skills.

“To the center of the Artifact,” Hugh replied, “There’s a bridge that connects all the different parts of the Cube. We’ll be able to see everything from there.”

Elnor raised a hand to toss his hair behind his shoulder, and Hugh flinched at the movement.

“You’re afraid of me,” the young Romulan said, “You shouldn’t. I would never hurt a friend of Picard’s.”

Hugh nodded, although he still felt uneasy around the sword strapped to Elnor’s back. “Are you some sort of assassin? You’re obviously not Tal Shiar.”

“I am not an assassin,” Elnor snapped, as if offended by the very thought, “I am Qowat Milat. I am Picard’s _qalankhkai_.”

“I don’t know what that means, but if he trusts you then so do I.”

“I won’t give you reason to doubt me. Our primary teaching is the Way of Absolute Candor; I will never lie to you.”

They walked through an abandoned sector, dimly lit, with pipes sputtering and sparks flying along the walls. Darkness was Hugh’s life-long companion. He knew his way through and around it. “Stay close, we’re almost there,” he told Elnor.

They emerged on the other side and walked directly onto the bridge. It was long and narrow, spreading out in front of them like a metallic serpent. There was nothing left to do but wait. Hugh held on to the railing, steadying himself. It could be days before the Romulans found their dead soldiers. Hopefully by then Picard and Soji Asha would be at the other side of the Quadrant, safe and sound. All Hugh had to do now was make sure no one found the Queen Cell.

“You look frightened,” Elnor placed a hand on Hugh’s back, “Do you want to sit down with me?”

Perhaps he hadn’t expected the kindness– the compassion he’d abandoned all hope of receiving – but something in Hugh’s chest tightened at the boy’s words. “Yes, thank you,” he said, following Elnor to the center of the bridge, where they sat with their feet dangling over the edge.

“Picard told me about you. I know your story. You were Borg.”

Hugh closed his eyes. _We are Borg_ , the Collective’s voice was still in his head, and after all this time he could almost live with it. Almost. “Yes, I was Borg.” He wanted to say it again, just to hear it, to believe it, “I was Borg.” _I, was. I, me, a long time ago_.

“Are you alright?”

There it was again; the genuine concern, the unreserved sympathy. _Why do you care?_ Hugh thought, and he remembered a different voice, from years ago, and a name that felt like safety; Geordi – different voice, the same compassion.

“I’m alright,” he opened his eyes and looked ahead, “It’s been… an interesting day.”

Seeing Picard again, guiding him through the Artifact, finding Soji, leading them both to safety… It had all happened so quickly. He wasn’t even sure what was going on. Nothing made much sense, but that was to be expected when you were spinning in the orbit of people like Jean-Luc Picard. Elnor probably knew the feeling. Hugh turned his head towards him and found him staring.

“Can I touch these?” Elnor asked, pointing at Hugh’s remaining implants; on his cheek, above and below his eye.

The question caught him off guard. Before now, no one had ever wanted anything to do with the relics of his former self; the proof of his subjugation and, ultimately, his disgrace. But Elnor stared openly, with unconcealed wonder, and he leaned forward, as though aching to be closer. No one had ever wanted to be closer to Hugh before.

“Yes,” he answered, after a moment of stunned silence.

The boy’s finger landed on the implant just above Hugh’s eye. He traced it, the faintest of touches. His mouth fell open slightly. Hugh tensed as Elnor’s finger slid lower, over the second implant, then the third; reaching the scars lining his cheek, the cracks in his shattered face. He was suddenly embarrassed, mortified at being stared at. He looked at Elnor, pure and perfect – the delicate arch of his eyebrows, the smoothness of his golden skin – and saw himself in comparison, not quite complete, not quite natural.

Elnor’s hand lingered, as if unwilling to let go just yet. “Beautiful,” he said, almost to himself.

There was, just above Hugh’s heart, a pang of something he could not name, and his eyes stung with tears. He blinked them away. He had never been beautiful. Not until now.

He turned away, unable to bear Elnor’s awe. Slender fingers slipped over his jawline before moving away.

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine.”

Elnor’s hand grazed his, and Hugh looked up into worried eyes. It was dizzying, as if they were standing on the very edge of a precipice; the bridge was a streak of metal and rust beneath them, and the rest of the world was just a blur of black and gray.

“Why did you come here?” Elnor tilted his head to the side. A lock of dark hair fell onto his shoulder. Hugh wanted to reach up and smooth out the crease between the boy’s brows, wipe away the frown from those handsome features.

“I guess I wanted to be useful,” he said, “the Project needed a director. I thought – I don’t know. Maybe I thought it would make me happy.”

Elnor’s Adam apple bobbed up and down. “But it doesn’t?”

A breath. Silence, interrupted only by the metallic wails of the Cube. Hugh looked away, beyond the bridge, down into the belly of the ship; the drop was seemingly endless. “No, it doesn’t.” he said it with certainty, through the guilt and shame.

No, it did not. He’d dreamed himself a hero, self-sacrificing and principled, with the same fearless passion he’d seen in Starfleet officers. He’d looked at himself in the mirror day after day; he’d stared at his misshapen, broken face – jaw set, eyes alight with determination – and he’d nodded to himself, _yes, this is my purpose_.

But the mirage had dissolved only a few days after he’d started his work here. Like wisps of smoke. Nothing left of his noble dream but its consequences: a lonely existence at the very heart of his worst nightmare. The low droning noises were a constant reminder of where he was. Years ago he’d promised himself he would never set foot in a place like this again.

“Then why do you stay here?” Elnor’s question was eerily well-timed. Hugh ignored the nausea in the pit of his stomach, reminding himself that this was different, that they were separate people; that they could not speak into each other’s minds.

“Because I care about the XBs,” he answered without hesitation. Yes, that much was true. He could leave any time he wanted to, but he didn’t. He wouldn’t abandon these people. He cared, so much. He just wished it didn’t weigh on him the way it did. That he could have a bed to call warm, a place to call home.

Elnor swung his legs back and forth in the air, making the bridge bounce slightly beneath them. “You are an XB,” he said, and his hand moved higher up, fingers gently brushing Hugh’s. “If you care for the others you should care for yourself.”

Hugh gave a mirthless smile. “It’s not the same,” he shook his head, although he’d noticed Elnor saying _care for_ instead of _care about_.

Silence, once more. Long fingers reached up carefully, passing over a knuckle, stroking the back of Hugh’s hand. He swallowed heavily, closing his eyes, relishing the touch.

“You used to live somewhere like this?” Elnor asked. So much curiosity, so many questions, and Hugh couldn’t answer fast enough.

“Yes. For as long as I can remember.”

It was odd, the way everything spilled out of him. He usually didn’t like talking about this; very rarely allowed conversations to reach this point. But not now. Now he wanted to answer more than he wanted to forget. He remembered an old human idiom and imagined himself lassoing a Romulan moon, “ _because Elnor asked me for it_ ”.

The boy was quiet. His palm slid over Hugh’s hand, his thumb drawing invisible circles over a pale wrist. Impossibly soft skin, cool to the touch – and Hugh saw the way Elnor’s eyes darted down, making sure the touch was welcome.

“I can only remember living in one place as well,” he said, “I was told that I had nowhere to go, and I listened, even though I wanted to leave. Until Picard came back for me, to take me with him. Now I find it harder and harder to listen. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to do as I’m told again.”

There was no sadness to his words, no self-pity or anger. Just the fierce determination of a young heart, and a tentative promise, _I’ll never do as I’m told again_. Hugh drew a shaky breath. He was the same, and he knew it, he could see himself in the quiet resolution that had settled over Elnor’s face. He leaned in just a little bit closer, his shoulder bumping gently into the boy’s.

“I remember the first few weeks after…” Hugh choked on the words, unable to say them here, under this churning prison of steel. Some things came alive when he spoke them out loud, some things threatened to swallow him whole if he so much as mentioned them.

He trusted Elnor to understand. “I would do things simply because I wanted to,” he continued, “and for no other reason. There was a planet, somewhere in the Antridia System. I would stand outside for hours, just to feel the sun on my face. Wiggle my fingers and watch my shadow imitate me,” he smiled at the memory, gaze fixed on an indistinct point beneath the bridge. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Elnor smile too.

“But lately,” Hugh added, smile fading, “I’ve been doing things because I have to, not because I want to.”

Candor, it seemed, was contagious. For some reason, hiding seemed absurd. Why would he possibly want to hide anything, when it felt like the spaces between his fingers were right where Elnor’s fit perfectly?

“What do you want to do now?” Elnor asked with infinite softness,

Hugh looked up once more into those dark eyes, so close, so unbearably close. He’d never known what a stranger was, never understood the notion – even now, after years of being alone in his own head, he struggled with it. They’d only just met, but as hard as he tried, Hugh couldn’t see Elnor as a stranger. Eyes locked, fingers intertwined, bodies leaning into each other ever so slowly… Hugh tried to speak, but he couldn’t even hear himself think over the pounding of his heart.

“I want to kiss you,” Elnor said, disarmingly honest. His gaze fell to Hugh’s mouth before he looked up again, “Do you want to kiss me too?”

Chest heaving, hands trembling, Hugh nodded. He wanted it more than anything – being closer to Elnor – he _wanted_ it like he’d never wanted anything before.

The silence and stillness of the moment were overwhelming. And then it seemed to happen all at once: Hugh tipping his chin back, Elnor inclining his head, the tender collision, the brush of mouth against mouth. Eyes closing of their own accord, lips too timid to part. Hands reaching, desperate and gentle; touching, holding, feeling. Hugh’s palm against Elnor’s neck, Elnor’s hair falling onto Hugh’s cheek. _I know you, I see you, I feel you_. Mouths pressing just a little bit harder, just a little bit closer, _I see you, I see you, I see you_.

And then the inevitable retreat, the half-hearted separation, eyelids fluttering open, breathless wonder on both their faces. Hugh touched a finger to his mouth. Elnor’s smile was dazzling.

“I’ve never been kissed before,” he said, pointed ears blushing green.

“Neither have I,” Hugh whispered.

The sound of heavy footsteps on the bridge made them both turn: an XB that Hugh knew as Lorcan was walking towards them. She stopped a few feet away, eyes wide with surprise, and clasped her hands behind her back.

“Can you leave, please?” Elnor told Lorcan politely, “We want to kiss each other again but you’re making us uncomfortable.”

Hugh couldn’t contain the laugh that bubbled up out of him. There never was any malice or hostility to anything Elnor said, and the very concept of sarcasm was foreign to him – but what he thought and what he felt were constantly on his tongue. It was endearing. Right now the look on Lorcan’s face made it terribly amusing too.

“I’m sorry,” the XB said, and Hugh could’ve sworn her pallid face was turning red, “But it’s urgent.”

Hugh’s laughter died then, replaced by a frown, and he pushed himself to his feet. “What’s wrong?”

Lorcan slid her hand across her bald head. “It’s the Romulans. They’re furious. Narissa is looking for you everywhere.”

“Any idea why?” Hugh winced, knowing the answer.

“Something about Locutus and the girl. I think you should get out of here.”

Elnor stood up, hand already on his blade. Hugh shook his head. “There’s no need to worry. There’s nothing she can do without breaking the treaty.”

“I’m not sure that’ll stop her,” Lorcan placed her hands on Hugh’s shoulders, “I really think you should leave. Use the spatial trajector, don’t let her find you.”

Hugh patted the XB on the back, trying to give her a reassuring smile. “It’s alright, Lorcan. I’m not going anywhere. We may be in Romulan space but I’m still director of the Reclamation Project. Narissa can’t chase me off my own Cube.”

Lorcan looked unconvinced, but she nodded anyway.

A sharp cry made them all start. Coming from the right side of the bridge, five Romulan soldiers pointed their disruptors at them. Lorcan gasped. Hugh and Elnor exchanged a panicked look.

“Run,” Elnor breathed, and Hugh could still feel those soft lips on his, the way they had made his skin tingle. He watched Elnor draw his sword, the mesmerizing flicker of light on the blade. “ _Run_ ,” Elnor repeated.

This time, Hugh listened. Grabbing Lorcan by the arm, he broke into a sprint away from the Romulans. Disruptor blasts followed them as they ran off the bridge and into the maze of interweaving corridors beyond. They had one advantage over the Romulans: their intimate knowledge of Borg ships. If they could make it past the power waveguide conduits, no one would ever be able to find them.

For a moment, Hugh almost forgot to inform Lorcan of his plan. _It’s not like that anymore, she can only know what I’m thinking if I tell her_. The nausea returned, as usual, and he ignored it, as always.

“Lorcan!” he called above the sound of disruptor fire, “Run through the conduits, past the distribution node!”

Legs and thighs aching with the effort, Hugh made himself run faster. He saw the node up ahead, the jungle of tubes and pipes feeling – for the first time in forever – like a safe haven. _Almost there..._

To his left, Lorcan tripped and fell. Hugh stumbled, stopped, and looked back to see more Romulan soldiers closing in on the fallen XB. 

“No!” Hugh cried, “Let her go, she doesn’t know anything!”

A large Romulan seized Lorcan by the back of her collar, pulling her to her feet. The others circled Hugh, disruptors pointed at his chest.

“The Colonel wants to speak to you,” the soldier holding Lorcan spat. “You will follow us to Subsector 5.”

They were already too far from the bridge – it was a smudge of color in the distance. The characteristic green lighting in this sector of the Artifact was sickening, casting threatening shadows around them. With one last glance at the far-away bridge, Hugh followed the Romulans into the heart of the Cube.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Takes place during and right after [this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9L-65IPJWI&t=3s)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Music to listen to while reading this chapter.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CiCgBO4Lvmc)

_“I have love in me the likes of which you can scarcely imagine  
and rage the likes of which you would not believe.”_  
― **Mary Shelley,** **Frankenstein**

* * *

Hugh’s legs gave out. His knees hit the ground and his palms fell to Lorcan’s lifeless body, feeling for a heartbeat that no longer existed. The hole in her chest was still fuming. A sob tore through his throat, and another, and more, and the pain seemed to sink into him all at once.

“I hate this vile cube,” Narissa said, her voice a distant threat, “It's obscene. As are you and your… _XBs_.”

Her loathing poisoned the air. Hugh looked around, sobbing still, each motionless face a cruel reminder of what had happened. What he’d done.

“But that isn't why these things died.” He knew what she was going to say, he felt her hate coil and twist around him, and he looked at her, tears blurring his vision, as she said; “They died because of you.”

He would have collapsed, had she not grabbed him by the hair and pressed her knife against his neck. He stared at the light up above, letting it blind him, then closed his eyes against the pain – so much pain, in his chest and in his stomach and where Narissa’s fingers were pulling on his skull. She said something else, but he didn’t hear her. All he could hear were the disruptor blasts, and the sound of his friends’ bodies hitting the ground, over and over and over.

The knife dug into his skin, making him gasp in pain.

“I would kill you, too,” Narissa said, “But you’re Federation, and you’re protected by that asinine treaty.”

She threw him onto Lorcan’s body, and he clung to it. His Federation citizenship had saved him, but there had been nothing to shield the others from Narissa’s hatred. Their fate had been entirely in his hands. No one else cared, or ever would. He cried, burying his face in Lorcan’s clothes. The Romulans left him there, snickering at his weeping, but it was all he could do.

And then a voice called out, faint and weak. One of the XB was still alive, barely, holding a trembling arm up. Hugh hurried to their side. He didn’t know this one personally, hadn’t had the chance to talk to them. He knew their designation, but not their name. They looked up at him through unseeing eyes and clutched his forearm.

“I’m so sorry,” Hugh whispered through his tears.

Their face was like a puzzle with missing pieces; their assimilation more a part of their present than their past. They reached up and touched Hugh’s face, dragging their hand over his forehead, down his nose. A moment of recognition.

“Third of Five,” they said, “it was not your fault.”

Hugh held their hand and squeezed it. He did not let go, even when it went cold and rigid. He did not let go, until he could sob no more, until his tears had dried on his cheeks and he felt numb and empty. He sat there. Through the fog in his mind he knew he’d done the right thing, as terrible as it was to think of that now. He was certain that helping Picard and Soji had been the right thing to do. It was that certainty that carried him through the minutes, hours, days that seemed to stretch on and on as he sat there.

A hand on his shoulder, waking him from the depth of his stupor. Elnor. Hugh didn’t have the strength to turn away from the bodies.

There was a chime from Elnor’s comm. It only made sense that he’d leave now.

“Your friends,” Hugh said, “They’re worried.”

The boy needed to leave. It would be better that way. All this death and destruction surrounding them... someone as lovely as Elnor did not belong in a Borg Cube.

“Go without me,” Elnor said into his comm, “This will not happen again. My help is needed here.”

Their eyes met. There was no pity in Elnor’s, just determination, and tenderness beyond anything Hugh had ever known. His gaze did not falter as he stood up. He extended an arm, and Hugh took it, letting himself be pulled up, back on his feet, back to life. He experienced it slowly, one thing at a time. Elnor’s hand on the back of his head, soothing, healing. A nod of acknowledgement. A silent understanding passed between them; _together. We can do this together_.

As they walked away from the carnage, it felt like the only thing holding him up was Elnor’s hand on his back. For an impossible second he imagined himself lying down, that same hand cupping his face, a steady Romulan heartbeat lulling him to a dreamless sleep. Maybe he’d feel the sun on his face, and the shadow of Elnor’s hair dancing in the wind.

But Narissa’s voice tainted his reverie. Burning ice and salt in wounds. Her revulsion gripping him by the throat, and he wanted to scream, _it’s not my fault_.

Obscene, she’d called him. Perhaps. But it was not his fault. Not his fault that he’d been assimilated. And the XBs she’d killed – he still felt responsible for their deaths. His friends; gone. _Not their fault_.

Somehow, Elnor had led them back to the bridge. Hugh’s mind was a tempest. _Vile, obscene_. He’d heard it all before. A monster, he’d been called, and a long time ago he’d believed it. But how could they, all of them, presume to judge the XBs? What did they know of assimilation? They hadn’t suffered the horror of being ripped apart from the inside. They didn’t know the unearthly terror of losing everything that you are to the unforgiving voices, to the chant, the twisted mantra, _we are Borg_. 

Hugh had been Borg. He knew this place better than anyone. He knew the terrible power it held, and he knew how to use it.

Tapping Elnor’s arm lightly, Hugh turned and entered the corridors. He was no longer numb: he was frantic. His rage was a living thing, consuming every thought, every breath he took. _That isn't why these things died_. Her mocking tone, her blatant disgust. _They died because of you_. Yes, they’d died because of him. Because he’d been stupid enough to fear the power that his scars gave him. He’d earned the right of destruction. Narissa wanted a monster; he’d give her one.

Hugh felt the pain melt away, dulled by his unrelenting fury, Elnor followed, walking quickly, his eyes wide and questioning. He deserved to know what Hugh had in mind – absolute candor between them, in everything.

“I promised to defend and protect the XBs. I’ve failed them all, I’ve been a fool,” Hugh turned; his hand on Elnor’s arm, and the boy faced him, “We are going to take this Cube away from them forever.”

Another nod, a quiet pledge. They were standing so close that for a moment they might have kissed again. But then –

“That sounds like a treaty violation to me,” Narissa and her soldiers, like spiders crawling out from under a rock, “Did you really think you weren’t being watched?”

No place to run, no place to hide. They stood there, considering their options while she closed in on them.

“And not just a treaty violation: open insurrection. I’m grateful,” she gave Hugh a spiteful smile; “I’m authorized to kill you now.”

The same rage pushed him forward to attack. Elnor stopped him with a hand on his chest. The slide of the blade, that deadly sound; something was uttered in Romulan… then Elnor flung his body against Hugh’s, shielding him from disruptor fire. They fell and rolled around the corner.

“Stay here,” Elnor whispered in Hugh’s ear and then disappeared into the shadows.

Hugh didn’t manage to stand up before Narissa was there, pointing her gun at him. She took the time, silently gloating – enough time for Elnor to appear on the other side, momentarily distracting her. Hugh ran for his life.

He heard the fight going on behind him, the sword and the disruptors and then the menacing silence. If he reached the Queen Cell, he could regenerate the Cube and take it out of here. Thousands of drones were still in stasis: he could activate them and link their transceivers, turn them against the Romulans.

Create a new Collective.

He stopped. If he did that, he would be assimilating them again. He’d be doing something far, far worse than anything that had been done to him. He’d be inflicting unspeakable pain on the people he’d promised to protect. Pain he knew only too well. And he knew that if he did reach the Queen Cell, his rage would take over. He wouldn’t be able to let go, once it was done. He would become the monster Narissa had seen in him.

But back there in the corridors, a young man was risking his life to save the XBs; to save _Hugh_. A stranger who was already a friend. Such untarnished light, such a noble spirit… Hugh had forgotten how brightly the stars burned until he’d seen them in Elnor’s eyes.

And he wanted to see them again. He wanted to stand blameless in their glow, and he wanted to be loved by them. He turned back to the fighting, back to Elnor’s burning stars. He thought of the Queen Cell one last time, and he remembered himself in Jean-Luc Picard’s ready room, being asked to assimilate the Enterprise. I will not, he’d said. _I will not_. You are Borg. _No, I am Hugh_.

I am Hugh.

He looked around the corner, and his breath caught when he saw Elnor. It was hypnotizing; the way he moved, precise and dignified, like he had nothing to prove to anyone. Even when fighting he was graceful. And underneath those flowing dark robes was a heart of gold, beating in time with the universe. No doubts, no lapses, just harmony, determination… and a dream of freedom.

Elnor was everything good in the world. Everything Hugh had once loved about it. He was sunlight and flickering shadows and butterflies in a field. He was the wave, and the shore, and the ripples that went through the water. He was friendship and loyalty and tenderness. How briefly Hugh had known these things. In so many years of existence he’d only allowed himself a few moments of them. And how he longed for them now, with every breath, he wanted them. _Impossible, not for you, being here is your purpose_. But if Elnor had come to this forsaken place and held Hugh’s hand and called him beautiful, then anything was possible.

They would make it. He knew, right then and there, that everything would be alright, as long as they were together. He didn’t even see the blade, only heard it piercing the air.

And he fell. From a great height, it seemed. The ground was cold. His body too. Elnor was there. He took out the blade, took away the fear. Hugh was bleeding. He pressed one hand against the wound, the other against Elnor’s heart. Strong, beating. He could do what Hugh hadn’t been able to. Get this Cube out of here. Free it from the Romulans, give the others a new home.

“To activate the Queen Cell, you will need an XB,” Hugh rasped. Even as he said it, his hope began to waver. No one could do that without enslaving them all again. The monster wasn’t them; it was the Cube itself. Once connected to it…

But Elnor was looking at him. _I’ll do it_ , his eyes said, _I’ll do anything. I’ll make it happen_. It was so easy to believe him. No matter how ridiculously impossible this thing was, Hugh believed Elnor would make it happen.

“How's this for a lost cause?” he wanted to laugh, but only managed a sad smile. He placed his hand on the boy’s cheek, held his face in a trembling palm, so beautiful, so beautiful. Elnor took Hugh’s hand and squeezed tight, and everything was possible, everything would be alright. “I was that much of a hopeful fool again for a minute.”

 _For a minute, for a second, for the best moment of my joyless life_. “Thanks for that,” Hugh choked, and he wished Elnor were smiling, he wished Elnor were happy.

He would have made Elnor happy.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Music to listen to while reading this chapter.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEMuUZ0tdvo)

_“I do know that for the sympathy of one living being,  
I would make peace with all.”_  
― **Mary Shelley,** **Frankenstein**

* * *

A breath. Another. In and out, slowly. Waking up. Birth anew. 

Shapes and colors and lights. They came into focus. Smiling, nothing but those dark eyes, and birds singing in the distance. The world; so bright. A hand on his shoulder, a name on his lips. “Elnor…”

The boy’s smile widened. “Hugh…”

They’d made it. Everything was alright.

~

Coppelius was the fourth planet of the Ghulion system. It had sunny plains and rocky hills. Plant life, blue and red, grew everywhere. At night, two copper moons filled the sky. The Station – “Synthville”, some people called it – was like a small town overlooking the sea. Artificial lightning was only used in the evenings. The air smelled of lemon and honey.

Hugh walked out the glass doors and into the courtyard. Elnor was sitting on a bench, facing away from the building, his cream-colored robes billowing in the wind. His hair was tied in a loose bun. The sun danced on the treetops ahead.

“Don’t look yet,” Hugh covered Elnor’s eyes with one hand, “I have a surprise for you.”

“Doctor Soong told you to rest for a few days,” Elnor reminded him.

“Yes,” Hugh shrugged, “I didn’t listen.”

He felt Elnor’s smile, the rise of his cheeks against his palm. “What’s the surprise?”

Bright orange and clinging to Hugh’s pale blue shirt, the cat didn’t protest when he gently placed it in Elnor’s lap. Removing his hand, Hugh sat down on the bench, waiting for Elnor’s reaction.

“Is this – is this a cat?”

“His name is Spot II.”

For a moment, it seemed like Elnor was about to cry. He carefully lowered his hand onto the cat’s head, right between its ears. Spot II responded by rubbing the side of its face against Elnor’s wrist.

“He likes you,” Hugh grinned.

All of a sudden Elnor’s arms were around Hugh’s shoulders, pulling him into a long, tight hug. The cat chirruped at the disturbance but remained curled up in Elnor’s lap.

“Thank you,” the boy whispered against Hugh’s neck.

Hugh melted into the embrace, bringing his arms up to hold Elnor closer. The sun on his face, the wind in his hair, a butterfly flying past them. He closed his eyes. Peace was something he’d never known before. Who he was and what he’d been and who he would become; none of that mattered here. He was free of it.

The sweetest of sighs escaped Elnor, and he pulled away, just enough to look into Hugh’s eyes.

“Can I kiss you?”

“Yes.”

Better than the first time, better than anything else; just them, together, lips searching, moving, finding – here and here and here, _don’t stop, don’t go away, stay close, closer please, stay forever if you want_. Hugh held Elnor’s face between his palms, just because he wanted to. That was reason enough. He _wanted_ this, and he would let himself have it. They kissed again, and again, and again. Here and here and here. Mouth and nose and the tip of a pointed ear.

Hope had been enough to save his life, and now he knew there would be happiness too. Happiness, and the promise of a thousand tomorrows.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! This was so much fun to write (and these two make me cry a lot).  
> If anyone feels like leaving me a Hugh/Elnor prompt, please feel free to do so on tumblr [@thesadchicken.](https://thesadchicken.tumblr.com/)


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